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Q: Is teaching IPA symbols will really help the Chinese learners?
Most of the teachers and students I've met, they were all engrossed into this IPA thing. And most of the time, they try to complicate. But whenever I ask them to pronounce the word based on the symbols, my eardrums always get a crack. do you think teaching the symbols will really help neutralized their pronunciation and accent or it is again only for passing a written test?
11 years 13 weeks ago in Teaching & Learning - China
To add a detail. The teachers and students I am referring above, are from primary schools.
IPA is invaluable, especially for those for whom English will at best only ever be a second language. It is extremely unlikely that such learners will develop the ability of a native speaker to 'work out' how a new word should be pronounced, and as there are so many variations (in English) of ways to pronounce the same spelling life gets difficult. Therefore IPA spelling (now standardised in most dictionaries) gives them the ability to pronounce a new word 'straight from the book'.
Edit: As an example, the work you are putting in now teaching greatly benefits me, and my students: I mainly teach young adults and if I have a 'new' word or one they are struggling with if I write it in IPA they invariably get close enough to understand. I just then finesse the pronunciation a little. tbh, Chinese students understand IPA better than I do, (I usually have to look it up).
What Hugh said!
Absolutely!!!!!
I only teach university level students (possibly called 'young adults'), and it makes a lot of difference! The ears only pick up so much, and, because they're not accustomed to English - in it's different accents - it's a great way to get a sound ingrained into their minds. Using just sound, while it certianly helps, isn't gong to get into their memory after the class, unless they have a correct written reference to it later.
Of course, be aware of the different pronunciations, and the different accents. The English-Chinese dictionaries they have aren't the best :(
I'll also admit, their knowledge of the IPA is better than mine (and I did a masters in linguistics!!! 
)
MissA:
I find when I'm working intensively I get really good at spelling things out using the IPA.
As soon as I take a holiday or stop using it as much, it vanishes from my head like a puff of smoke, and I have to learn the bloody thing all over again.
A few points here.
- The IPA can be super useful - a short cut to the correct pronunciation for a new word if the students know it. Also, I think that if students have a working knowledge of the IPA that makes it much easier for students to work out their own pronunciation weaknesses, and let them know what problem sounds they need to focus on.
- No, the IPA does not unnecessarily complicate the language. What it does is show the full complexity of English pronunciation. You could argue that our 26-letter, 5-vowel alphabet as it stands is inadequate, but that would be an entirely different argument.
- Also, the IPA has nothing at all to do with written English exams, it's there to help with pronunciation in the spoken language.
Unfortunately, harryjohn, if a person has pronunciation issues with English, they cannot blame the IPA.
I find the IPA incredibly useful. In fact, it makes the job so much easier, and Chinese students seem to know it inside out.
While familiar with it, and comfortable using it, I always marvel at Chinese teachers (and some students) who can quickly write English words using the IPA. I have tried, but just can't do it as fast.
